Sunday, February 12, 2006

Oh my God

Sometimes I just can't understand this world.After the cariacture that has been so controversial and ignited the highly inflammable passions of Muslims all around the world,an American firm has come up with a T-shirt which has the cartoon printed on the front side.Make money with everything,what's a few lives here and there.

The product description goes:

Yet another example of that so-called 'religion of peace'. As much as these people burn and desecrate the symbols Americans hold dear, what are these folks cryin' about. Celebrate your right to free speech and wear this shirt.

At 20$ this freedom of speech does not come cheap(Ok I converted into Indian currency,old habits die hard).Add to that the risk of being noticed in the wrong sort of way,a huge additional cost.But,120 products sold in a single day do suggest otherwise.Emotion,sentiment,common sense-no one's even considering those.It's not hard to understand why:

Nate Thomas, product manager of MetroSpy, says, “We can’t let the terrorists win. We cannot encourage this uncivilised behaviour by caving in to their wishes.”

Bravo Nate! You should be handing over a complimentary copy of Satanic Verses with this one.With extra charges of course.That would be more in-your-face don't you think? And earn you some extra cash as well.

The Pakistani papers,the only one I found quoting this issue,are not happy,understandably so.The article I came across has this to say as conclusion:

Critics of the T-shirts say this is a perfect example of why Americans are hated around the world. Finding humour in the desecration of another’s religious symbol is wrong. Despite the critics, MetroSpy intends to keep selling the T-shirt.

This incident takes me back to the 2002 Miss World riots in Nigeria,where 200 people lost their lives over an article saying something about the Prophet and the beauties.The organisers coolly shifted the venue to London and had the show anyway.I was never a fan of beauty contests,but this gave me a huge reason to despise them.I don't know what was the justification given but I guess it wouldn't have been different from what the T-shirt people came up with.

An original joke to end things with,couldn't restrain myself from putting it here

Q:Why did the Pakistani cricket team throw out Kaneria?A:Because his first name was Danish.